Somalia convenes their first ministerial level meeting on Scaling Up Nutrition

(Right) Dr. Mohamed Abdi Farah, Health and Nutrition Adviser and SUN Government Focal Point, Somalia at the meeting.

On 27 December 2015, the office of the Prime Minister of Somalia convened the first multi-stakeholder meeting on Scaling Up Nutrition, hosted by the Minister for Commerce and Industries in Mogadishu. The objective of the ministerial level meeting, called by the H.E. the Prime Minister, was to;

• Establish the Ministerial council to lead the nutrition agenda of the government
• Institutionalize nutrition in the government plans and agendas
• Introduce the concept of multi-sectoral approach in nutrition
• Solicit the commitment of Government sectors in to multi-stakeholder platform on Nutrition

A welcome note was given by the Permanent Secretary of the Office of the Prime Minister who shared the set the scene by detailing the importance that nutrition has in the development and recovery of the nation. Dr. Mohamed Abdi Farah, Health and Nutrition Adviser and SUN Government Focal Point, gave a presentation on Somalia’s nutrition situation and stressed the importance of multi-sectoral collaboration to fight against all forms of malnutrition. Dr. Farah shared details about the progress made since Somalia joined the SUN Movement and what was expected from each sector. Dr. Farah requested from ministers, that they lead and own this process and they commit to the achievement of a common goal and targets.

“We are not alone in this movement, we are the 52^nd country of 56 countries, who committed to this movement and have demonstrated good results. We need to have a multi-stakeholder plan, strategy and results framework, which we are all committed to and a way of monitoring and accountability.” – Dr. Mohamed Abdi Farah, Health and Nutrition Adviser and SUN Government Focal Point, Somalia.

Remarks from the Minister of Agriculture, Minister for Livestock and Pasture, Deputy and Acting Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Minister for Commerce and Industries and the Program Manager of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, following the presentation, were exceptionally positive.  Subsequently, a number of agreements were reached including their commitment to the multi-stakeholder platform on nutrition and the inclusion of nutrition in the National Development Plan, which is in the early stages of development.

Read the full report for more information : Somalia multi-sectoral Minister level meeting, January 2016